Two for-profit methadone clinics in Derry and Salem are under investigation as part of a statewide initiative looking into unnecessary barriers patients might face when seeking treatment for opioid addiction.
The clinics, which provide both methadone and buprenorphine, can prescribe buprenorphine for patients to take at home while patients in need of methadone treatments are required to travel to the clinic which, in the rural communities of New Hampshire, could be up two hours away.
“Studies show that travel and distance to an OTP — even a distance of around five miles — can reduce patient retention in treatment,” wrote U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan in a letter to the CEOs of three for-profit OTP operators. “Drug overdoses killed around 105,000 Americans in 2023 — and more than 400 New Hampshire residents — yet only 25% of Americans with opioid addiction receive medication-assisted treatment. Barriers to access … treatment … may contribute to these outcomes.”
The investigation, launched by Hassan, will look into the patient outcomes, billing practices and compliance of the three parent companies — Acadia Healthcare, BayMark Health Services and New Season — of for-profit methadone clinics in New Hampshire, Hassan said in a statement.
BayMark Health is the parent company for Middlesex Recovery, 45 Stiles Road, Salem, and The Granite House, 35 West Broadway, Derry, both of which provide medication-assisted treatments, such as methadone and buprenorphine.
For-profit OTP owners argue the existing setup helps patients by promoting individualized therapy and counseling, yet some of these same companies have allegedly defrauded the government and neglected their patients by billing Medicare and Medicaid for inadequate or even non-existent therapy and counseling, Hassan said.
Additionally, there are claims that for-profit OTP companies have generally opposed proposals to address barriers limiting access to methadone treatment.
As a result, Hassan has requested the companies submit revenue information, patient retention rates, staffing levels, counseling hours and the provision of take-home doses provided to patients as part of her investigation.
The investigation is part of Hassan’s overall efforts to expand access to medication-assisted treatment programs, which are statistically proven to increase recovery rates and decrease the likelihood of relapse.
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